Geography 1500F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: 30Th Parallel North, Ocean Current, Stellar Atmosphere
4 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
The global climate system is extremely complex. Variations in solar energy received, atmosphere, ocean circulation, sea- ice, glaciers, elevation, land surface/biological productivity . Starting point: differences in solar energy received: fundamental driver of atmospheric and ocean circulation. Insolation: amount of solar radiation hitting earths outer atmosphere per m squared. Varies with season and latitude, due to earths curvature, tilt and orbit. And tropic of capricorn: but varies across the seasons. Produces: a net energy imbalance between hotter tropics and colder poles. Like a heat pump" producing warm, moist air that rises. Low pressure zone on earth (think updraft: whereas a high pressure zone is where dry air is rising. 2 key physical principles: most air lighter than dry air (=rises, warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air (=as rising air cools, it drops moisture as rain) Hot, moist & lighter air rises @ itcz. Air doesn"t just move from tropics to the poles.
